Google Docs Gets New ‘Document Tabs’ Feature to Help You Organise Your Doc Files Better

Google has announced a new feature for its Docs users. Those who edit their files using the web editor, will now see a new Document Tabs feature. The feature builds on the existing Document Outline feature which mainly deals with headlines. The new feature allows users to add tabs to their Google Docs documents making them a lot easier to view, edit and organise. The feature was first announced with several other AI enhanced features at Google's Cloud Next 2024 event held in April this year.

Google Docs has finally started the rollout for a new feature called Document Tabs. The tool is available on the web editor only and was earlier labelled as ‘Show outline'. Once updated on the server side, a user will see a new option called ‘Show tabs and outlines'.

Once selected, you get a column on the left side which will let you add tabs (or sections) to an existing Docs document. Apart from adding additional functionality, the new feature will also let users visualise the entire document in a better way, letting them view the complete structure (including tabs and subtabs) altogether. The tabs system naturally also helps the user navigate the document in an easier manner.

Users will first see a ‘Tab 1' followed by which they can add additional tabs and customise those tabs and add subtabs as well. According to Google, tabs can also be linked. Since tabs are basically links, users can even share links to specific tabs instead of sharing an entire document. Lastly, emoji can also be used for tab headings.

While the rollout for the Document Tabs feature has already begun, Google claims that it may take up to 15 days for the feature to be visible for some users. During the full rollout which takes place from October 21, 2024, it will take just 1-3 days for the feature to show up. The feature will be visible to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.